Inter-cohort analysis of injury incidence for teams playing on facilities with third-generation artificial surfaces compared with control teams playing on natural grass at home
| Artificial turf | Control | RR (95% CI) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Incidence | No | Incidence | ||
| *p<0.05; **p<0.01. | |||||
| †Re-injury of the same type and at the same site within 2 months of the final rehabilitation day of the index injury. | |||||
| RR, Rate ratio. | |||||
| Total injuries | |||||
| All injuries | 177 | 6.67 | 443 | 7.33 | 0.91 (0.76 to 1.08) |
| Primary | 149 | 5.61 | 377 | 6.24 | 0.90 (0.74 to 1.09) |
| Re-injury† | 28 | 1.05 | 66 | 1.09 | 0.97 (0.62 to 1.50) |
| Overuse | 74 | 2.79 | 148 | 2.45 | 1.14 (0.86 to 1.50) |
| Primary | 60 | 2.26 | 115 | 1.90 | 1.19 (0.87 to 1.62) |
| Re-injury† | 14 | 0.53 | 33 | 0.55 | 0.97 (0.52 to 1.80) |
| Trauma | 103 | 3.88 | 295 | 4.88 | 0.79 (0.63 to 0.99) |
| Primary | 89 | 3.35 | 262 | 4.34 | 0.77 (0.61 to 0.98)* |
| Re-injury† | 14 | 0.53 | 33 | 0.55 | 0.97 (0.52 to 1.80) |
| Training injuries (trauma) | |||||
| Total | 54 | 2.31 | 121 | 2.29 | 1.01 (0.73 to 1.39) |
| Slight | 21 | 0.90 | 33 | 0.62 | 1.44 (0.83 to 2.49) |
| Minor | 11 | 0.47 | 34 | 0.64 | 0.73 (0.37 to 1.45) |
| Moderate | 14 | 0.60 | 40 | 0.76 | 0.79 (0.43 to 1.46) |
| Severe | 8 | 0.34 | 14 | 0.26 | 1.29 (0.54 to 3.09) |
| Lower extremity | 43 | 1.84 | 109 | 2.06 | 0.89 (0.63 to 1.27) |
| Sprain | 21 | 0.90 | 27 | 0.51 | 1.76 (0.99 to 3.12) |
| Ankle sprain | 10 | 0.43 | 18 | 0.34 | 1.26 (0.58 to 2.73) |
| Knee sprain | 8 | 0.34 | 9 | 0.17 | 2.01 (0.78 to 5.22) |
| Strain | 10 | 0.43 | 40 | 0.76 | 0.57 (0.28 to 1.13) |
| Hamstring strain | 5 | 0.21 | 13 | 0.25 | 0.87 (0.31 to 2.44) |
| Groin strain | 5 | 0.21 | 9 | 0.17 | 1.26 (0.42 to 3.75) |
| Match injuries (trauma) | |||||
| Total | 49 | 15.26 | 174 | 23.08 | 0.66 (0.48 to 0.91)* |
| Slight | 19 | 5.92 | 43 | 5.70 | 1.04 (0.60 to 1.78) |
| Minor | 8 | 2.49 | 51 | 6.76 | 0.37 (0.17 to 0.78)** |
| Moderate | 17 | 5.29 | 57 | 7.56 | 0.70 (0.41 to 1.20) |
| Severe | 5 | 1.56 | 23 | 3.05 | 0.51 (0.19 to 1.34) |
| Lower extremity | 39 | 12.14 | 150 | 19.89 | 0.61 (0.43 to 0.87)** |
| Sprain | 20 | 6.23 | 40 | 5.31 | 1.17 (0.67 to 2.01) |
| Ankle sprain | 11 | 3.42 | 26 | 3.45 | 0.99 (0.49 to 2.01) |
| Knee sprain | 9 | 2.80 | 14 | 1.86 | 1.51 (0.65 to 3.49) |
| Strain | 8 | 2.49 | 51 | 6.76 | 0.37 (0.17 to 0.78)** |
| Hamstring strain | 4 | 1.25 | 20 | 2.65 | 0.47 (0.16 to 1.37) |
| Groin strain | 2 | 0.62 | 18 | 2.39 | 0.26 (0.06 to 1.12) |
| Home league matches | |||||
| Exposure (h) | 868 | 1740 | |||
| Traumatic injuries | 8 | 9.21 | 48 | 27.59 | 0.33 (0.16 to 0.71)** |